hospitalitytoday.com | 7
gardens, which after huge investment
and work finally opened to the public
in May. Later this Summer, The Newt
in Somerset hotel opened, to huge
National acclaim.
Turning the old house and near-
dilapidated outhouses into a world-
class hotel, restaurant and spa, and
recruiting a team to run it, has been
a massive challenge for the youthful
GM Andrew Foulkes (previously of
the Abbey Hotel in Bath and crowned
‘Manager of the Year’ at the 2017
Cateys).
What is exceptional about this
incredibly ambitious project (the estate
covers over 1200 acres, including
cider orchards, woods, deer park and
farmland) is the attention to detail
and the uncompromising ‘no expense
spared’ approach, which can be seen in
the meticulous restoration of buildings
using local stone and craftsmen, and
the finishing touches (apples and
newts almost hidden in the ironwork of
railings and gates).
The first thing visitors to the gardens
see is the ‘threshing barn’ – a
magnificent building of local honey-
coloured Hadspen stone with a
soaring, cathedral-like vaulted roof
of oak beams, used as the reception
building. At first glance a superbly
sympathetic restoration – but in fact a
brand new building, made the ancient
way by stonemasons and carpenters.
Koos Bekker told HT’s publisher that
threshing barns were always built
aligned to the prevailing wind, so it
could separate the grain from the chaff.
When we asked if this new building